The City is at War
by MayContainRandomness
Summary: A deadly virus strikes out of nowhere in Japan, leaving it cut off from the rest of the world in a national quarantine and the sufferers of the disease insane and bloodthirsty. The rich hide away and the commoners rule. Mild horror, pairing undecided
1. Where They Are Now

Kyouya sat alone in a large sitting room, he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, the TV screen merely crackled every time he flicked a channel which would have been great if he felt like watching snow. He threw the TV remote on the floor and stared at the black and white fuzz on the screen for a few more moments before getting up and kicking the screen. A hairline crack appeared, Kyouya glared at it and kicked the screen a few more times before the glass finally gave way and then the useless television lay on the floor, smoking and broken.

'I wonder how long it is until the generator runs out,' Kyouya sighed, looking at the lamp, sending slowly dimming light around the room. He turned on his heels, contemplating whether the risk was worth checking on the backup generator behind the house. He'd heard suspicious shuffling from outside and large shadows flitting across the empty streets nearby. He wondered just how long it would be before they found a weak point in his barricade because when they did, that would be the moment he was done for.

* * *

Huni's eyes were wide and fearful, he swallowed back his tears and he stared at his friend lying on the floor, 'Takashi?' he called, his voice was quiet and raspy, there was no reply, just the drips of blood, so much blood. Huni looked up at the monster in front of him, he was angry, he was scared, and the demon just stared at him, regaining its strength after the blows Mori had landed. Huni snarled, completely unlike his usual persona, this thing had attacked them, his cousin had protected him faithfully and had paid the price and now Huni was going to make sure this monster suffered for it.

'_I'm going to kill you!_' Huni shrieked and lunged, the monster screamed back, dark eyes dilated seeming almost joyful at a second chance of spilling young blood, the only thoughts in its mind were to kill and to eat and it was not going to stop until its last breath.

* * *

Hikaru grasped his brother's hand tightly; scared it was going to be torn from him at any second.

'Hikaru,'

Hikaru didn't have to look behind him to know his little brother was crying.

'Do you thing mom and dad are ok?' Kaoru tightened his grip as they ran, praying silently they had escaped before they were noticed. Hikaru hesitated before giving his brother a quick glance and a small, forced smile.

'I don't know,' Hikaru let tears spill over his oven cheeks, 'but were going to go find out and then we're going to find some place safe. I promise we'll be fine,' Kaoru wiped his face and tried to smile back, he nodded and the two brothers ran through the early twilight hoping that the reason their parents hadn't come home last night wasn't the reason they feared.

* * *

Tamaki watched the news from his room, his eyes were glued to the screen and he was almost too shocked to move.

'Dad,' he called quietly, there wasn't a reply, 'dad!'

His mother peered around the door then opened it and smiled at him.

'My, Rene, what is with all this noise so early in the morning?' Tamaki turned off the television and pulled his eyes from the screen; his mother frowned at his expression, 'what's wrong?'

'Good morning mama, are you sure it's ok you're up, not feeling weak?' Tamaki asked, though his voice sounded oddly distant and disconnected, 'do you know where dad is?'

'Y-yes,' Anne Sophie was startled by her son's sudden change in personality, 'he's in the study talking to his mother, what's going on Rene, tell me what is troubling you, please,' she grasped his arm as he walked past, she was worried and she had a feeling it was something to do with the sudden agreement that Tamaki could see her again. Especially as Yuzuru's mother came as well, she said she wanted to keep an eye on them, and obviously she didn't care if nobody believed her because she still had all the power.

'I don't know yet mama, but I'm going to find out, I'm scared my friends are in danger and I think dad knew something about it,'

* * *

Ranka coughed and tried to clear his vision, he knew he had to stay focused, he didn't have much time and he needed to make sure Haruhi was safe. He had gathered everything he needed and now it was time for him to say his last goodbye. With tears in his eyes he opened the door, checked the window was securely boarded up and then looked at his only daughter lying silently on her futon. Wiping tears from the corners of his eyes he stepped forward slowly and placed a piece of paper next to her head, just in case by some small miracle she woke up before she succumbed to the madness or died.

He kissed her warm forehead softly, tears dripped from his face, dampening her hair, 'I love you,' he whispered then walked away before he could change his mind, closing the door and his one most important person away. With shaky hands he placed the large chain across her door and a padlock. He had already disposed of the key.

Then, he walked into the bathroom, locked the door then lay down on the floor and closed his eyes.

He hoped he and Haruhi* died, it was better than the other fate that could be ready to engulf them.

**This was NOT a full chapter, just an introduction thing. I am posting the introduction to three stories and then the one with the most votes on my poll/ encouragement/ begging (XD) will be taken up first, the other two will follow closely. I guess it's kind of stupid having five stories going at once but I have the ideas and the one that people like the most will be the one continued first. **

**R&R this story was inspired by the song The City is at War by Cobra Starship which... has absolutely nothing to with the story. There will also be little ideas borrowed from The Enemy by Charlie Higson and that random show Survivors by BBC which was awful -.- If you have no idea what the hell I'm talking about, I'm from the UK so I'm not surprised. **

**This intro was kind of patchy but hopefully proper chapters will flow better.**


	2. Not Haruhi

Approximately two weeks after a television was harshly abused Kyouya sat alone and he felt his sanity was dwindling.

He buried his head in his hands and contemplated suicide for what was most definitely not the first time, he had also considered trying escaping but that was almost as bad, where would he go? From the information he had gather while he could the whole of Japan had been swallowed by this disease, not that it was really any more contagious than the average flu but flesh eating monsters without a conscience and fast reflexes usually meant the end of any average person.

Ah, how average Kyouya felt now. He had found it mildly entertaining to burn useless bank notes for a while but the novelty wore down, and his life or what was left of it was filled with nothingness, the only thing that kept him company was his paranoia. Even on bright days such as today every small scratch or whisper of wind set him on edge, not that he could do anything to protect himself, there were a few kitchen knives and a whole stack load of guns locked away on the other side of the house but Kyouya knew that with just him he had no chance.

'I've never felt so weak,' he groaned into his hands, and then hesitated as if he had just heard himself and flopped back onto a cushion.

He decided there and then that he was going to get out of this hell hole, he was not weak, he was not helpless, he was still Kyouya Otori and he was most definitely not an average person. There were secrets hidden around this strange disease and Kyouya was going to learn each and every one of them, if somebody was still alive and had something to do with this they would pay dearly.

Then he heard the noise and his stomach dropped, his mind forgetting everything he had just thought, or said, he couldn't tell which was which.

Footsteps. Footsteps on gravel, they sounded steady and even. Kyouya frowned, the panic was dimming and he pushed it to the farthest parts of his mind, he expected quick, uneven steps... maybe the monsters were getting smarter? He stood up and went to open the front door, may as well let them instead of listening to scratching and snarling at the door for days on end.

As the door swung open Kyouya took a step back in surprise, at first it looked like he'd been saved but then he saw the guns, and the faces of the people holding them.

He backed away from the open door, a group of teenagers and young adults stood in the doorway forebodingly. A boy, presumably the leader signalled the girl beside him. She grinned menacingly and stepped forward, pointing her two guns at him. Her messy hair covered her face, showing him nothing as she stepped closer, closer until she was right in front of him, the cool metal of the guns pressed against the soft flesh of his throat.

She looked up at him, no mercy showing in her wide eyes.

'Haruhi?' he gasped.

She frowned, hesitating, 'how do you know my name?'

'How rude, you don't recognise me without my glasses even now?' Kyouya sighed, a happy feeling taking over his worry. He didn't think he'd see anyone he knew ever again, especially Haruhi, she'd been taken ill a few days before the epidemic was announced, 'and how are you still alive? The disease should have killed you.'

Haruhi had lowered the guns and glanced back at the group, they were staring curiously and after a few moments the main boy stepped forward, 'does he know you, Yui?'

Haruhi glanced back at him again then back to the boy and nodded, 'Hai, I think so Nii-nii*,' obviously his question had been ignored. Kyouya was utterly confused, he resorted to just blinking stupidly and feeling relieved that there was no guns directed at him anymore.

'You guys go wait outside, keep watch and see if there's anything useful in the garden. We'll be back soon,' the boy ordered to his group.

'But Keiichi I'm hungry,' one of the younger children whined as the others left and spread over the Otori grounds. Keiichi glared, sending the young boy scampering.

During this time Haruhi had put the guns in the pocket of her huge hoodie and was pulling out a sheet of paper, she unfolded the crumpled sheet and lifted it for Kyouya to see, 'Do you know who I am? Can you help?' she asked hopefully. Kyouya's mind went into overdrive as his misused brain tried to process the situation. Keiichi stepped forward, patting Haruhi gently on the head and moving her slightly behind him. She clasped her sheet of paper to her chest and studies Kyouya intently.

'What's your name and is there anyone else in the house with you?'

'Kyouya Otori and there's just me, now let me speak to Haruhi, does she have amnesia? How is she alive?' Kyouya asked, a hint of impatience and concern in his voice, 'why should I tell you anything, you were going to shoot me.'

'Yes she does have amnesia we don't know how she got better and her name is Yui now, you can talk later,' Keiichi said, then moved onto an explanation, 'we weren't going to shoot you, that was just so we could raid your house without a fight then we would ask you to join our group. We collect and help people, we don't kill them, the zombies do enough of that already.'

Kyouya thought for a moment, 'if I allow your group to raid my house, I will show them to clothes, food and guns but I have my own conditions, I will join your group and provide my medical knowledge which I am sure would be of assistance but I want to show Haruhi – I mean Yui some things and there are two places I want to search if I go with you.'

'Yeah, yeah whatever, but wherever Yui goes, I go,'

'Don't you trust me with her?'

'I don't even know you,'

'True, even so, you can trust me to never harm Haruhi,' Kyouya turned his gaze to Haruhi, she seemed even smaller than before, her wide eyes seemed tired and lost but she still held the same thoughtful expression as she stared into his eyes, she didn't seem to recognise him though and the thought weight down Kyouya's heart a little.

'I'll call some of the group in to look around then we can go show Yui whatever it is you want,' Keiichi then went to the front door and called everyone inside to instruct them, Haruhi followed behind him like a lost puppy and clutched his shirt. In the next fifteen minutes Kyouya showed the wary strangers through his house without thinking about it, his mind was too busy trying to piece together information, _I'm going to have to search my father's study before I leave, _he thought then realised they were standing outside the kitchen, the last of the gang excitedly opening cupboards and almost screaming for joy when they saw the freezer room about the size of the average classroom.

'Do _not _eat everything when you find it, make piles and then sort it with Chi,' Keiichi instructed and a tall girl stepped forward, the blade in her belt glare in a way that said she was not to be messed with, Keiichi turned to her, 'Chi, make sure these morons don't go wild,' she smiled and nodded.

'See you soon, I'll send someone to check on the guards soon, I hope you learn something about yourself Yui,' Chi then faced the people in the kitchen and started to give orders.

'Right,' Keiichi faced Kyouya, 'let's go.'

Kyouya tried to not be annoyed by this guy's attitude, he was obviously used to being in charge but he'd learn soon enough that Kyouya Otori may sometimes seem like a follower on the surface but underneath he is always the one pulling the strings, he merely nodded to the other boy and lead the two up the staircase down a two corridors, the first dark from lack of electricity and the second filled with a musty light from the dirt spattered windows, he wasn't sure how dirt got on the second floor but he didn't really want to know.

He opened a door which led to his bedroom, the large windows made the room seem bright, like a snapshot of the before world. He didn't stop and left the other two to stare and wander around; Keechi immediately went to the window where he watched the guards sitting by the gates, the padlocks which had been holding the gates together lay broken on the floor.

Haruhi wandered around the room and looked at pictures, she tried hard to see if she recognised any of the people in them other than the boy she had net now. She picked them up in turn, scrunching up her face in concentration. Kyouya pulled some sheets out of a drawer in his desk then turned to see Haruhi looking at the pictures; he raised an eyebrow in faint amusement.

'You never met my family, other than my father once, so you won't recognise any of them,' he walked over to her as she placed the pictures down, scanning her eyes over them all still then she pointed.

'What about them,' she pointed at the one picture of the host club.

'Ah, that is my other family,' Haruhi looked at him in confusion; Keiichi was listening from the window while staring out of the window. Kyouya plucked the frame from her grasp and pointed to it, Haruhi peered at it, 'that's you.'

'Oh,' she seemed surprised, 'so that's what I looked like.'

Kyouya's heart sank lower than it had already; her memory loss was so severe she could hardly remember herself? He pushed that to the back of his mind, he was going to help her remember, 'yes, that is me and these people are... or were... Mitsukuni Haninozuka, Takashi Morinozuka, Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin, Renge Hoshakuji and Tamaki Suoh. We were all in a host club.'

Haruhi frowned, 'Haruhi was in a host club?' she asked uncertainly, 'and why is she dressed like a guy, the one thing I'm sure of is my gender and I'm definitely a girl.'

'That is a long and slightly weird story, long story short though; you broke a very expensive vase and posed as a boy to be in our club and pay us back for it,'

'You mean Haruhi did, I'm not Haruhi,'

'Unless your genetic code has miraculously changed you _are_ Haruhi,' Kyouya was annoyed; it was like she didn't want to remember.

'Look,' Haruhi/Not Haruhi sighed exasperatedly, 'if feel uncomfortable using her name, I know nothing about her and I don't even feel like her, it's like stealing. I'd be happier if you called me Yui,' she looked at him with tired, confused eyes, 'if I ever remember I will happily take back the name, I feel bad about forgetting my friends and family when you're trying so hard to help me.'

'I hope you remember too, Haruhi was a good person and you are one and the same in my eyes but if it makes you happy, would you like to see files of Haruhi's basic information, Yui?'

Yui smiled, 'sure.'

He handed over the files with her birthday, age, lineage and other information, Haruhi reached out and took the sheets, their hands brushing for a fraction of a second and their eyes met.

'You two, we have to leave, now,' Keiichi's urgent voice met them, both of their heads snapped up to see the boy looked through the window, the sunlight was dimming but it was still clear something was wrong by the look on his face, 'zombies**.'

***Nii Nii – A childish form of saying older brother.**

**** The people-turned-monsters will be called different things by different people. Zombie is just one of them, I think it sounds a bit corny but that's what I'd imagine Keiichi to call them.**

**Note: I know Haruhi keeps switching between saying 'I' and 'she', it's generally her trying to separate herself from the past Haruhi because she feels it is wrong to keep the name when she doesn't have the memories.**

**I found this chapter difficult to write but I hope I'll get back into the swing of it, updates will become more frequent in a few weeks for a while because I finish school next week but go away for two weeks them I'm generally free.**

**If there's anything you want to ask, anything you want to happen in the story then just tell me, if you think something should have happened in this chapter that didn't or something that did but shouldn't have happened just tell me and I'll change it, all of this helps me improve as an author.**

**Lots of people seemed enthusiastic about my other story 'Weaknesses' but with 62 hits only 2 reviewed :( I hope that doesn't happen with this story, I hope I can look forward to reading a review, it could be one word if that's all you want.**


	3. No Coincidence

**Hello everybody, this isn't a proper chapter and I am supposed to be updating other fics before this but I decided to post a short update and get one unanswered question semi-answered. I hope you enjoy this mini-update; the next chapter will come after Fast as a Heartbeat and Tenshi.**

**MCR x (MayContainRandomness, not My Chemical Romance -.-;)**

**PS: This is based BEFORE the last chapter- just after the Tamaki intro.**

**PPS: Read the last chapter of Ouran, nearly died from happiness and sadness at the same time 8D**

Anne-Sophie stared down the empty corridor where her son had disappeared down, she sighed and it turned into a small cough. It was times like this she wished the most that she was stronger. She continued to stand in the doorway of Tamaki's room trying to think what had worried her son into such a serious state.

Turning her head to look inside the room her eyes settled on the television, titling her head slightly in thought she made her way towards it; pressing the power button almost hesitantly she sat down on the end of her son's bed and watched the screen as what looked like a medical report appeared on the screen. The French presenter spoke of some epidemic in Japan.

The screen moved on to show a prestigious man's face, not that Anne-Sophie would know the Japanese man so that wasn't what shocked her, next the screen moved the film footage from inside a research centre.

_They're keeping a man locked in suck a small cell? _She frowned in disapproval, and then he turned and faced his inhuman eyes to the camera. Anne-Sophie jumped, clutching her hands in terrified fists. She tried to move her mouth but nothing came out.

The man continued to stare, his mouth turned into a feral snarl and he hurled himself at the walls of the confinement, screaming and clawing like an animal, the camera zoomed into the man's face so his blood covered teeth nearly filled the screen, the camera quickly switching to the presenter.

'_This is what the victims of the mysterious air-borne virus fall to; the others are all suspected dead, by the virus or so-called 'zombie' attacks.' _

Anne-Sophie's body nearly fell off the bed as dizziness took over; she leant to the side for support, tears streaming down her face from sadness, shock and anger.

'_Japan has been locked down in quarantine. Nothing is moving in or out and discussion are being made as to whether a nuclear bomb should be dropped before the virus can spread to the rest of the world,'_

This was happening in Japan? She felt sick to her stomach.

'Please,' she whispered, as a feeling of uneasiness plagued her mind, 'please don't tell you had something to do with this Yuzuru.' Recent events told her that something wasn't right.

~.~.~.~

Tamaki almost fell through the doors of his father's study making both his father and grandmother turn to look at him in surprise.

'Tamaki! What's gotten into you?' Yuzuru stood from his seat, planning to go steer his son from the room.

'Such rudeness,' Shizue sniffed, 'next time you knock, or I'll send you back to Japan alone.'

Tamaki straightened himself, 'No you won't.'

'I beg your-,'

'I can't go back to Japan,' his face was tense, trying to keep the swelling panic from rising. His grandmother's face turned from anger to an almost softer but serious gaze. Tears started to collect in the corners of his eyes.

'So you have heard the news, child,' if she hadn't been brought up to have a face as emotional as a plank of wood there may have been some pity in her eyes.

'Grandmother, father, did you have something to do with this? This surprise trip to France wasn't just a coincidence was it?' Tamaki stepped forward until he was in front of his father's desk. Yuzuru looked into his son's eyes, feeling unsettled by the amount of fear and sadness they held. He hadn't brought his son here to make him unhappy. It was probably foolish to try and hide the dangers in the world from him but he couldn't help it.

'Don't be ridiculous Tamaki,' Yuzuru laughed but was cut short.

'Don't lie to your son, Yuzuru,' his mother snapped, the angry glare was back and directed at him.

Yuzuru's smile faded, he hesitated then cleared his throat, 'very well,' turning his eyes to his son he tried not to envelop him in a hug and make him forget the rest of the world he cared about, 'this wasn't a coincidence.'

'So you had something to-,'

'Not directly, although my actions may have contributed,' Yuzuru finished vaguely, Shizue sighed sharply in annoyance but didn't speak.

Tamaki frowned, 'I don't understand, I know we're not a medical company or a drugs company so I don't know how or why we could affect this. I want to know why I'm in France and nobody else has escaped.'

'That isn't true, there are some other leading families that escaped, and I heard the Nekozawa family moved back to Russia before this all started,'

'More than one family was involved?'

Shizue spoke up, 'oh yes,' she smiled in humourless way, although it looked almost sinister, 'after building empires over Japan the more prestigious families have initiated its downfall through greed and stupidity.'

**Oh ho, so that was the short update, I think I'm going to add a bit of the conversation to the end of each chapter, or maybe make this one longer at a later date. I guess it depends which comes first, I hope you enjoyed it.**

**Please review, nobody reviews anymore :'( I got a two reviews in a week for one other updated story... :(**


	4. Hidden Nature

**Hi again :) No comment on the amount of time I take to update, it's shameful :'(**

**Anyway, back to Yui and Kyouya, here's the where we left them,**

'_Unless your genetic code has miraculously changed you are Haruhi,' Kyouya was annoyed; it was like she didn't want to remember._

'_Look,' Haruhi/Not Haruhi sighed exasperatedly, 'if feel uncomfortable using her name, I know nothing about her and I don't even feel like her, it's like stealing. I'd be happier if you called me Yui,' she looked at him with tired, confused eyes, 'if I ever remember I will happily take back the name, I feel bad about forgetting my friends and family when you're trying so hard to help me.'_

'_I hope you remember too, Haruhi was a good person and you are one and the same in my eyes but if it makes you happy, would you like to see files of Haruhi's basic information, Yui?'_

_Yui smiled, 'sure.'_

_He handed over the files with her birthday, age, lineage and other information, Haruhi reached out and took the sheets, their hands brushing for a fraction of a second and their eyes met._

'_You two, we have to leave, now,' Keiichi's urgent voice met them, both of their heads snapped up to see the boy looked through the window, the sunlight was dimming but it was still clear something was wrong by the look on his face, 'zombies.'_

~.~.~.~

Yui stuffed the papers into her seemingly bottomless pocket and pulled out her guns, she followed Keiichi wordlessly out of the room; Kyouya hovered for a moment before following them, grabbing the photo of the host club without really thinking about it.

Keiichi and Yui were already halfway down the corridor when Kyouya started to run, Keiichi was yelling at the top of his voice, kids scrambled from rooms carrying an assortment of items they deemed useful. Yui stopped for a few moments to encourage a child to let go of the phone he was holding, uselessly trying to contact someone. Anyone. Somebody to bring them somewhere safe. He refused but put it in his pocket and followed them.

After passing a countless number of doors Kyouya stumbled to a stop and stared at the door that seemed even more foreboding than they had when he knew his father was waiting behind them. He pushed them open, surprised when a girl squealed and fell backwards, holding a knife shakily.

'G-Gomen, I was looking at- just-,' she pushed her too-large glasses on the bridge of her nose and swallowed nervously.

'Help me, grab whatever documents look important,' Kyouya ordered, the girl's mouth flapped uselessly, scared by his tone, '_now_,' she squeaked but obeyed.

Kyouya's fingered slid rapidly over the books and files lining the walls, occasionally slipping something out, shoving it into his father's briefcase previously sitting by his desk, gathering dust. The girl handed another few sheets to him, hopping nervously from foot to foot before darting out the door. Kyouya thought she probably had the right idea, he glanced out of the window at the group of about twenty of the creatures were sniffing and shuffling their tattered stumps of feet across the front lawn.

They looked harmless. Disgusting and hideous but harmless none the less. But he had seen their shadows flickering in the dark streets, even the occasional screams. He didn't want to know whether the noises were coming from the monsters or their victims.

It wasn't safe anymore, Kyouya realised, 'as if it ever has been,' he muttered to himself then promptly followed the girl out of the door, turning his back for the last time on the room that he despised so much.

By the time he had gotten downstairs the house was nearly deserted, apart from a few hiding by the front door with a huge frozen slab of meat. They glanced through the door every now and then to see if the coast was clear outside, Kyouya could hear the noise of shouting and the occasional gunshot. He wasn't going to be much use in a fight and he knew it.

'Oi, Mr Rich Boy,' one of the young boys holding the carcass yelled to him, 'too scared to fight?'

'Scrawny thing,' another boy muttered, though he himself was rather skeletal, 'probably wouldn't do much good.'

Kyouya's eye twitched in annoyance, his pride as an Otori bubbling up, 'it would be pointless if I went out without a weapon, wouldn't it? Especially as you so kindly pointed out I am not build for fighting with my bare hands,' his voice dripped with venom tinted sarcasm.

The first boy made a noise that could have been a snort or a laugh then threw a small gun into Kyouya's hands, 'you _do _know how to shoot that thing, right?' in reply Kyouya shot a hole in the wood above his head then dumped his bag on the girl who had been in his father's study, he stepped out of the door.

The fight going on outside wasn't on a massive scale, there were only a few of the stronger or stupider zombies still hanging around, grunting and swinging at the group of people who definitely outnumbered them. It didn't look like Kyouya was needed.

Yui wandered over after smashing a zombie in the skull with the butt of one of her guns, plopping herself down on the overgrown grass she smiled cautiously up at Kyouya, 'you don't need to help fight this time, this bunch seem pretty slow,' she looked around the carnage, one zombie was missing most of his limbs but still struggled along the ground, thin blood was pouring out of different wounds. The zombie eventually seemed to give up and slumped, starting to chew on one of its dead companions.

Kyouya nodded, wrinkling his nose in disgust at the bloody mess that used to be his pristine clean front lawn.

'I wouldn't let go of that gun though, especially with the amount of ammo they found in the weapon cupboard. What did you used to stock? An army?'

'Merely a private police force of one hundred men,' Kyouya replied, Yui's eyes widened and he stared at him with her mouth hanging open.

'Rich bastard,' she muttered.

'You okay, Yui?' Keiichi joined them, wiping his bloody hands on his shirt.

'I'm fine, Nii Nii, can I come with you to get everyone ready?' she responded, getting up from the ground but she stumbled and balanced herself on Keiichi's arm before sitting back down on the ground again, rubbing her legs.

'Are your legs hurting again?' Keiichi raised a stern eyebrow then quickly glanced away, checking the people who were now all sitting on the grass, sorting out the stuff they had collected.

'Nn,' Yui shrugged dismissively, 'it's tolerable.'

Keiichi knelt down and poked Haruhi's knee causing her to wince.

'Are you hurt?' Kyouya asked, the concern not showing in his voice. Keiichi said yes at the same time Yui said no, Kyouya raised his eyebrow in amusement, 'if it's bothering you I'm sure I can find something to help, what happened anyway?'

Yui's scowl dropped and she didn't respond, Keiichi shot a warning look at Kyouya then stood up straight and clapped his hands, gaining everyone's attention.

'Right, gather everything up and divide the load, we're going to find somewhere to camp for the night,' there was too much blood to stay in the Otori grounds; it would only attract more zombies. Everyone sighed and grumbled, picking themselves from the floor. Keiichi lead the procession out of the main gates and down the road that contained the homes of long-gone millionaires.

He glanced at Kyouya and Yui who were walking beside him, 'there'll be plenty of time to catch up later, and meanwhile you can carry Haruhi,'

The girl flushed in embarrassment, 'I do _not _need to be carried thank you very much,' Kyouya was torn between being vaguely embarrassed and concerned.

'You can barely walk,' Kyouya mentioned quietly, it was true, the small girl's legs were shaking and she flinched with each step. Yui folded her arms and refuse to move, stubborn as Haruhi ever was. Keiichi shot Kyouya a pleading look, Kyouya sighed then grabbed Yui by the waist and swung her over his shoulder, earning a yelp then a flurry of protests and insults.

'Nii _Nii,' _Yui gave the boy her best sad look, somehow managing to make her eyes water, her lower lip trembling as well. Keiichi hesitated for a moment then stuck his tongue out at her childishly, leaving her to struggle in Kyouya's grip.

'You've always been small but are you sure you're eating properly?' Kyouya commented, 'I've read books heavier than you,' he could feel her ribs on his shoulder and her rapid heartbeat.

Yui stopped struggling, folding her arms and placing her chin on them, staring at the ground, 'I eat when I can, when I'm hungry. There are enough stores in Tokyo to keep us all going for ages, even if the fresh stuff runs out.'

'Sounds appetising,' Kyouya muttered.

'You'll have to deal with the same as everyone else from now on, Mr Rich Boy,'

Kyouya's mouth twitched into a smile for a moment before disappearing, 'do you know where we're going?'

Yui shrugged, 'we have a couple of places around that we know are safe but it depends. Once we've scoured an area we move on and start to look in the next.'

'Look for what?'

'Survivors. Keiichi-nii's been looking for survivors. I think he's might be looking for someone in particular but he's never told me who,'

Kyouya nodded but didn't respond, he thought about the things, and the people _he _was looking for. He wanted to know more about the virus that was the cause of this country's troubles but there was also the more human side of him that wanted to find his sister, if she was alive of course.

'Why are you suddenly so calm around me?' he spoke again after a few moments, Yui stirred and lifted her head and he wondered if she had been sleeping, 'you seemed nervous earlier.'

'I'm not sure really,' Yui muttered, staring into the darkness that was quickly falling upon them and at the happy group of people that had become her friends and family over the past weeks, 'maybe Haruhi's in my head somewhere telling me I know you. Besides, if I caused a fuss and was scared of you it would make things harder for Keiichi-nii.'

'He's important to you isn't he?' it wasn't something Kyouya understood, reliance on people was seen as a weakness in his father's eyes and his mother had left when he was five years old so there was nobody to rely on. His sister was the closest thing to a parent he'd ever had.

'He's the one who found me and he saved my life from-,' she stopped, falling silent immediately and lowering her head again. Kyouya thought of everything he knew and tried to piece them together.

'You were attacked by something,' he stated, Yui nodded, encouraging him to guess more, 'were you living in the streets by yourself?' shake, 'in your home?' nod, 'so something got it?' she shook her head again.

'It was already in the house to begin with,' she whispered, Kyouya felt a bed feeling in the pit of his stomach, he didn't think pushing her any further would do any good but she started to speak again.

*Flashback time*

_The girl opened her eyes and looked around the unfamiliar room, rubbing her eyes with hands she didn't recognise. _

_She felt there was something missing in her head; it was light and empty in comparison to the dark and almost suffocating room she was situated in. She glanced around the room then picked a letter up from her pillow, squinting to read it from the light pushing through a crack in a board on the wall._

_Who was Haruhi? The girl in the picture looked happy with the woman, or was it a man? She wondered where they were and why she had the girl's letter it sounded like the girl had been sick and had locked her up for her own protection but the girl didn't know what this Haruhi would need to be protected from._

_A shuffling sound came from the direction of the door, making her jump. Maybe she was like Haruhi and she was locked up for her own protection. Maybe she was a mental patient, which would explain why she was locked up for 'her protection.' She laughed quietly, wondering how many times she had woken up like this and forgotten who she was, maybe she was a serial killer or maybe she hadn't done anything wrong but that didn't matter when you didn't know who you were._

_There was more shuffling from behind the door, the girl assumed it was a guard or some kind of personnel. She got up from her futon unsteadily, he legs felt weak and she wondered how long she'd been sleeping. Never mind that, how long had she lived in this room? It looked like a normal bedroom, maybe a little sparsely decorated but normal nonetheless. She gulped greedily from a water bottle she found on the floor and chewed a very stale piece of bread as she looked for anything useful in the room._

_As her eyes adjusted to the darks she flicked trough a few books that we sitting on shelves, mostly textbooks and a couple of photo albums. She squinted at photos filled with people she didn't know. Haruhi's face appeared more than a few times showing different stages of her life, the woman that looked like her disappeared from the photos when the Haruhi girl was around five or six. The girl didn't feel any connection to this girl, she was almost jealous of her. Living in this world the girl understood in her mind but failed to grasp any experiences of living in it. Did she know Haruhi? She must have done to have so many photos of her or maybe this was her old room and the girl had recently moved in. _

_Had Haruhi died? Had she been locked in here? This place must be a hospital then because Haruhi didn't look like a mental patient._

_The shuffling outside kept getting louder, a grunt occasionally or a snarl, the girl called out for food once but all she was give was a roar and heavy banging on the door._

_She came to the conclusion that it wasn't a guard outside, it sounded like an animal of some form, a dog perhaps. But something didn't settle right with her, where was everybody? It was eerily silent and no matter how hungry she felt her stomach felt heavy with a feeling of nervousness. The fear of this room was building in her mind and she was desperate to get out, claustrophobia gnawing at her empty mind and stomach._

_After an undetermined number of hours and eight bloody fingers later the crack in the boarding on the window fell away creating a hole big enough for the girl to peer out of. She rammed her thin fingers in the hold and tried to pull it further but her fingers were slippery with blood and torn skin so she fell backwards, hitting her head on the corner of the dresser. She cursed loudly, earning a snarl and more banging from the thing on the other side of the door._

_The girl cursed again as she stood, shoving papers and bottles from the dresser in frustration, she looked up and flinched from new light from the hole reflecting off the mirror. Blinking rapidly a few times the girl stared at the small, messy girl staring back at her. Her hair was matted and filthy, falling in her face and eyes. Her own angry eyes stared back at her and she sensed familiarity, tilting her head she tried to remember, maybe seeing her pathetic self going to help her gain some memories to explain this unexplainable situation._

_Then it hit her like a punch in the stomach, the girl staring back at her was a skeletal version of the girl in the photos, the girl in the letter, and the girl in __the__ photo stuck to the letter with that man-woman that claimed to be Haruhi's father. _

_She was Haruhi. This _was _her bedroom and she had been ill and that man-woman was her father. She was Haruhi._

_But not anymore. Haruhi was dead, the new girl didn't have a name. But that wasn't important because that thing outside wasn't a guard dog for a mental girl in a hospital and it most certainly wasn't human. Almost on cue it started to roar and throw itself at the splintering door. Haru-no the girl was scared, but all she could do as the door buckled and moaned on its hinges, locks rattling as they bent and fell from the door frame was scream and back into the corner, clawing desperately at the tiny hole she had made in the plywood board on the window. _

_Then the door gave a final moan and the thing pushed itself into the room, snuffling on the floor in the gloom, its red hair falling across its face and dragging on the floor._

_The girl's body shook and she turned to face the thing, what had happened to the world while she had been sleeping? The thing froze and it caught her scent and turned to face her, amber eyes fixing her wide brown ones with a hungry, half lidded stare. _

_The thing was almost as thin as the girl was herself but that wasn't what paused her in her hear, it was a man, with a few days of stubble on his bruise and disfigured chin. But he was feminine looking with a ripped and stained purple blouse. It was her father._

_But it didn't care, it was hungry. With a final, nearly gleeful roar it lunged. Its shrieks mixing with the girl's in the quiet air._

'That was when Keiichi-nii found me, he shot the thing through the hole in the board to hold it off then pushed a gun when the others had made the hole big enough. I shot the thing until it was dead,'

Kyouya was silent. He could understand the fixation she seemed to have with Keiichi; he has saved her as well as being the first real person she could remember communicating with. It was the first time since he had seen Yui/Haruhi that he was almost glad she had lost her memory. Haruhi was a strong girl; she may have recovered with being attacked by her father but to kill him? He doubted she would have been the same, not that she was the same right now but he didn't want to think about that.

'That's when you got hurt then,' Kyouya muttered. It was a statement more than a question.

Haruhi didn't reply.

'She's asleep,' the girl, Chi, from earlier patted the sleeping girl on the head, 'by the way, I'm Chi. I'd shake your hand or something but my hands are hardly clean,' she smiled showing him her mud and blood caked hands, 'I am- or was Keiichi's fiancée, I don't think anyone's going to get married in Japan for a long time at least,' she laughed which seemed odd to Kyouya.

'Neither of you got sick?'

'Nope, I guess that's why I don't mind if we never get married, we're lucky to still have each other at all,' she continued to grin, brushing her dark hair from her eyes, 'well, that's enough about me, what about you? I want to know everything, like how you know little Yui, why you came with us. You're the first of the rich people we've found that's been prepared to come with our group, not that many are still alive.'

'I'm the first?'

'Yeah, we found about three other live ones living in huge houses but two of them were determined they were safe indoors and another even shot one of the kids and called us vermin. That's why we take precautions and pointed a gun at you. Sorry about that, by the way.'

'Only three others,' Kyouya repeated, dread creeping into his chest.

'You sound surprised,' Chi eyes narrowed slightly and she tilted her head thoughtfully, 'most of the dead rich people had been killed by the freaks. I heard there was an experimental vaccine being sold for ridiculous amounts; it's true, isn't it? That's how you're alive.'

That took Kyouya by surprise more than the previous comment, 'not that I know of, nobody in our family was offered it if it does exist. I know that one of my brothers died of the disease as well as my father so they didn't receive one either.'

'Oh well, it's not going to cure any freaks so it doesn't really matter anymore,' she sat down on the ground, it was then Kyouya realised that everyone else was stopping, some were already gathering wood and throwing other debris into a fire. They were in the middle of a huge crossroad near the centre of Bunkyō's* busiest district. Silence seemed to blanket the quiet murmur of the group.

He placed Yui gently onto the floor; Chi put her small rucksack under the girl's head and smiled at her. Kyouya glanced around the area for the girl he had left the documents with, he spotted her near the edge of the open expanse, sitting on the bonnet (hood) of a broken down car. She wasn't wearing the glasses she had been earlier.

She turned her head and stared at him, she slowly slipped from the car and picked the briefcase from the floor, Chi followed Kyouya's gaze and watched the approaching girl warily.

'Do you know her?' she asked quietly.

'No, she helped me gather some... important documents from my father's study,' Chi simply nodded, her eyes still fixed on the girl who stopped in front of them, her expression far more confident than it had been earlier, almost angry. She dumped the briefcase in Kyouya's lap.

'You're Nami at the moment, right?'

'Yeah, Ren was the one that helped this cocky guy here, stupid wimp was terrified of him,' the girl glared daggers and Kyouya, her hand hovering over her pocket, 'he was pushing her around like she was some kind of slave.

'Though so, go off and play with your knives and leave this guy alone,'

'Fine, but if this guy doesn't learn some manners I'll be playing with knives all over his face,' she hesitated for a moment the slid a knife from her belt and twirled it casually between her fingers as she walked away.

Kyouya turned his head slowly to look at Chi.

'Multiple personality disorder,' she explained, still watching Nami-Ren walking away, 'each side is aware of the other though, Ren as you seem to have met earlier is the 'nice' side, smart but pretty weak when it comes to looking after herself. And Nami, well, she's good with knives. That's what got her out of the institution and in our group.'

She turned and gave Kyouya a look that made him feel strangely like a scolded child, 'you already seem to have got on her bad side, Nami is very protective of Ren so be careful next time or you're going to lose your face,' she gave him one reassuring pat on the shoulder then stood up to join Keiichi who was sitting with in a circle with the older people of the group.

Kyouya could only nod dumbly and after the experiences of the day he realised what a sheltered life he had been living, maybe Haruhi had been right all of those times she had said how unaware they were of what happened outside of their own lives.

Speaking of Haruhi, Yui rolled over and opened her eyes, looking around groggily. She rolled onto her knees then hissed in pain, lying back down on the ground.

'Are you going to let me treat your legs or are you going to let the wounds fester until you _have _no legs,' Kyouya glanced down at the girl who scowled up at him.

'With what medical supplies?' she questioned through a yawn.

'These,' Kyouya pulled a first aid kit from beside him; it was one of the few that had been taken from his household. Yui's frown deepened more but she didn't object, instead she sat up and started to unwind the bandages on her legs from the ankles up, she stopped a few inches above her knees.

Kyouya didn't say anything, so Yui attempted to fill the silence, 'well... they're redder than last time.'

The former rich-boy tried to say something, the gashed didn't look like something a human could inflict, something _Ranka _could inflict on his daughter. Some of the scratches were little more than that, a nearly healed line on her skin but others, the skin seemed almost to have split open in a way that Kyouya was amazed Yui could walk.

'Are you sure there was no weapon?' he asked the solemn girl, who was still gazing at her tattered legs.

'No,' she looked up at him sharply, 'the thing used its nails, and it wasn't human. This disease that's been affecting everybody, I think it attacks DNA directly, it changes them. Haven't you seen?'

'Yes,' Kyouya replied eventually, then applied antibiotic solution to her legs without warning, he could feel breath intake and her muscles tense, 'I want to know everything about it, where it came from, what it is, why it was released. That is why I'm going to my father's hospital.'

'Released,' Yui repeated then gritted her teeth as he dabbed at her legs. He nodded.

'This was no natural disease and I think my family was involved,'

**Well I've finished now, phew. 8 pages though :DD **

**Just in case anyone was wondering, Keiichi and Chi are in their early to mid twenties, I was going to have them younger initially but because he's leader of the group I thought he should be older. I'm probably not going to bother giving most of the group names because they're not really important, there are about 20 – 30 people in the group ranging from very young to about mid 30's older people are affected by the virus as it attacks the genetic information and the brain is starting to deteriorate, like some genetic disorders only appear with age.**

***This is where Ouran Academy is based in Tokyo, one of the 23 special wards in Tokyo.**


End file.
